Out of curiosity, once you buy, open the box and install the game, how many MBs does it have to download for patching purposes right now ?

By the way I'll get this game sometime in the next few days or weeks. I'm pretty familiar with various mmorpgs (lineage 2, wow, aion, city of heroes/villains etc) so i don't think I'll have any trouble getting used to the game.

Gone are the days when Target or Wal-Mart would have a new game release on sale for a fraction of the actual price. Now when a PC game first comes out, you pay the whole price ($49.99). Bah, the good thing is, I have a $50 Target gift card.

The official website shows that you can download Ferengi and Klingon Starfleet officers (I believe they have to be purchase with points). Question, why not just include them in the character customization to begin with?

Victory! Although I had to call Dell (so much for promised callback), the tech I got determined it was my hard drive in literally about 3 minutes. I was on the phone with another guy for 2 hours last night! Dell is now sending out a technician to replace my hard drive. Unfortunately it'll be 2-3 business days but as long as it's done by the weekend I'll live. I would have been fine with them just sending me a new hard drive but maybe this will be easier. And get this, at the end of the call, the tech said his floor manager wanted to speak to me. The manager profusely apologized for the hassle I had gone through both with my brand new computer dying and the idiot tech from last night. I was honestly moved a tiny bit.

Victory! Although I had to call Dell (so much for promised callback), the tech I got determined it was my hard drive in literally about 3 minutes. I was on the phone with another guy for 2 hours last night! Dell is now sending out a technician to replace my hard drive. Unfortunately it'll be 2-3 business days but as long as it's done by the weekend I'll live. I would have been fine with them just sending me a new hard drive but maybe this will be easier. And get this, at the end of the call, the tech said his floor manager wanted to speak to me. The manager profusely apologized for the hassle I had gone through both with my brand new computer dying and the idiot tech from last night. I was honestly moved a tiny bit.

I thought about doing the download version, but I'd rather have the physical DVD in hand, not really going to get the collectors edition though, money is an issue and all, I'll just stick to the standard. Need to find out what subscription prices are though.

I'm highly looking forward to gaming in the 25th century!

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For people new to MMOs - realize that the DVD is out of date as soon as you buy it. By that I mean - as soon as you re-install, you'll need to re-patch up to the current client version anyway (and I can guarentee in to months or so, it'll be GBs worth of downloading) - and the client is always available directly from the website; so in all honesty, having the physical install DVD for an MMO doesn't mean all that much.

With a digital download, no need to go to a store or wait in line - just purchase, download, install, register the retail code witrh your game account and you're good to go. I would never do a Digital download for a standalone PC game, but with an MMO I have no issues because the client is always being updated and content added.

Only Admiral 1-5 (for 45 total levels instead of 50); they remobved the last 5 at the very end of closed beta; said they woukld be returning, but they wanted to rework the end game a bit and allow for more expansion of characters in the future, but we'll see how all that turns out.

I thought about doing the download version, but I'd rather have the physical DVD in hand, not really going to get the collectors edition though, money is an issue and all, I'll just stick to the standard. Need to find out what subscription prices are though.

I'm highly looking forward to gaming in the 25th century!

Click to expand...

For people new to MMOs - realize that the DVD is out of date as soon as you buy it. By that I mean - as soon as you re-install, you'll need to re-patch up to the current client version anyway (and I can guarentee in to months or so, it'll be GBs worth of downloading) - and the client is always available directly from the website; so in all honesty, having the physical install DVD for an MMO doesn't mean all that much.

With a digital download, no need to go to a store or wait in line - just purchase, download, install, register the retail code witrh your game account and you're good to go. I would never do a Digital download for a standalone PC game, but with an MMO I have no issues because the client is always being updated and content added.

I was reading the manual last night that came with the game. I must say game manuals nowadays have become more and more "bare bones" basic. It would've been helpful to show on-screen displays and images, showing the control panel, stats, etc.

As the game states, this is a skills-focused MMO, and the leveling process, though similar to other games, is not like the MMOs I've played (or the only one I play at the moment, City of Heroes/City of Villains). In CoH/CoV, for instance, you gain experience points by completing mishes or fighting enemies, and you level up and unlock new power sets or additional "enhancement slots" to modify your powers. In STO, you have to spend "X" amount of skill points to level your character and buy modifications/enhancements for your bridge officers and consoles. In a way, this is good because you're really developing your ship/captain's skills and abilities.

I haven't installed the game yet but am really looking forward to this. I may have to cancel my CoH/CoV subscription.

Admitting I'm too lazy to read through the whole thread, how vital is team play to the game experience? Can you play straight through to endgame solo if you so choose?

The reason I have never stayed with any MMO is the group requirement. I have a job, kids, friends... when I get three hours a week to game I DON'T want to spend it trying to put a group together and then get to fight 3 mobs before I have to log out.

Admitting I'm too lazy to read through the whole thread, how vital is team play to the game experience? Can you play straight through to endgame solo if you so choose?

The reason I have never stayed with any MMO is the group requirement. I have a job, kids, friends... when I get three hours a week to game I DON'T want to spend it trying to put a group together and then get to fight 3 mobs before I have to log out.

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I'm the same way (1 kid, 1 on the way) and I like how STO has handled it so far. I haven't needed to team, but occasionally during a space battle I'm put into an instance with other players who are trying to accomplish the same goal. It's auto-teaming and it can be disabled if you so choose.

I was reading the manual last night that came with the game. I must say game manuals nowadays have become more and more "bare bones" basic. It would've been helpful to show on-screen displays and images, showing the control panel, stats, etc.

Click to expand...

Does anyone know of and can link to a list of keyboard commands, emotes, etc.?

Admitting I'm too lazy to read through the whole thread, how vital is team play to the game experience? Can you play straight through to endgame solo if you so choose?

The reason I have never stayed with any MMO is the group requirement. I have a job, kids, friends... when I get three hours a week to game I DON'T want to spend it trying to put a group together and then get to fight 3 mobs before I have to log out.

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So far in my limited time playing, the game seems to be very solo-friendly. In fact, I see it as almost a solo game with multiplayer components. You often get teamed automatically in instances but usually everyone goes their separate ways after the mission. I'm sure it would be fun though to run through a bunch of missions with the same group, especially if they're friends or guild members.

Just got a call from Dell and the technician will be at my home between 9:30 and 1:30 tomorrow to replace my hard drive. They originally wanted to give me a 9:30 to 5:30 window but what was I supposed to do? Stay home and miss a whole day of work? Ridiculous.

So good news for me and bad news for the Klingons, the USS Montevideo under the command of Lt. Norvo Dent once again leaves Space Dock tomorrow evening!

I was reading the manual last night that came with the game. I must say game manuals nowadays have become more and more "bare bones" basic. It would've been helpful to show on-screen displays and images, showing the control panel, stats, etc.

Click to expand...

Does anyone know of and can link to a list of keyboard commands, emotes, etc.?

Admitting I'm too lazy to read through the whole thread, how vital is team play to the game experience? Can you play straight through to endgame solo if you so choose?

The reason I have never stayed with any MMO is the group requirement. I have a job, kids, friends... when I get three hours a week to game I DON'T want to spend it trying to put a group together and then get to fight 3 mobs before I have to log out.

Click to expand...

So far in my limited time playing, the game seems to be very solo-friendly. In fact, I see it as almost a solo game with multiplayer components. You often get teamed automatically in instances but usually everyone goes their separate ways after the mission. I'm sure it would be fun though to run through a bunch of missions with the same group, especially if they're friends or guild members.

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Well, you can definitely join guilds/supergroups (which are called fleets in the game, I believe) and take on missions that way. Not sure if there is a 'taskforce' equivalent (like in City of Heroes) in STO.

Admitting I'm too lazy to read through the whole thread, how vital is team play to the game experience? Can you play straight through to endgame solo if you so choose?

The reason I have never stayed with any MMO is the group requirement. I have a job, kids, friends... when I get three hours a week to game I DON'T want to spend it trying to put a group together and then get to fight 3 mobs before I have to log out.

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Well, collaborative gameplay is an essential element of MMOs, but in my years playing CoH/CoV, joining a team is NOT a requirement; however, it does help greatly when you play in groups, i.e., strength in numbers, more XP, faster leveling.

EDIT: Since I haven't actually installed/played the game yet, I don't know exactly how Away Team missions will work when you team up with another player/players. When you beam down a planet, you have your own set of Away Team (bridge officers). So if you have five or six players on your team, do you get 35 - 40 friggin' Starfleet officers (including the AIs)?

EDIT: Since I haven't actually installed/played the game yet, I don't know exactly how Away Team missions will work when you team up with another player/players. When you beam down a planet, you have your own set of Away Team (bridge officers). So if you have five or six players on your team, do you get 35 - 40 friggin' Starfleet officers (including the AIs)?

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The way I understand it: When you join a team, the limit is 5 players per team. Away Teams are limited to 5 characters. Therefore, if 5 players are in an Away Team, the Away Team will consist of their 5 captains and no BO's. If less than 5 players are in a group, the remaining slot(s) on the Away Team will be filled with BO's (based on some system of team seniority).

I've only done one Away Team with other players and it was a 5 player/captain Away Team. As it turned out, the mission consisted entirely of running around and scanning things... no combat at all. After the 60 seconds or so it took to complete the mission, we all stood around going, "Hmm... that was... fun... Uh... nice to meet you."